WASHINGTON, DC -U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Health Subcommittee Chairman Joe Pitts (R-PA) released the following statements after the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the individual mandate included in President Obama’s health care law unconstitutional:
Upton said, “Once again, the courts have found the individual mandate at the core of the health care law is unconstitutional. We know it will ultimately fall to the Supreme Court to decide the fate of this flawed law, which is why the Administration should have immediately taken steps to expedite a review by the highest court. Instead, Americans are left in limbo and taxpayers are forced to shoulder additional costs as challenges to the law make their way through the judicial system. Congress has already found this law to be deeply destructive to our health care system, and consumers are already feeling the effects of rising health premiums due to the law’s foreseeable unintended consequences. The sooner the courts make a final ruling on this unconstitutional law, the sooner we can begin to pick up the pieces and make the kinds of common-sense, bipartisan reforms that should have been at the heart of health care reform all along."
Pitts said, “Today, we are one step closer to the elimination of the unconstitutional mandate to purchase health insurance included in last year’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. I am glad to see the 11th Circuit recognize that the U.S. Constitution does not give the federal government the authority to force citizens to purchase a product. We must continue to work in Congress to repeal the whole law. While the courts have the power to block an assault on our liberty, it is Congress’ duty to pass laws that work. The Affordable Care Act will not reduce health care costs. We still need real reform."
